Hoba Meteorite near Grootfontein, Namibia
Largest Known Meteorite on Earth
As the largest known meteorite known on earth, you would think that this 60 ton iron-nickel meteorite would have left an immense blast crater when it fell to earth nearly 80 million years ago.
As you head down the dusty roads into the valley where the Farm Hoba is, the black rock running through the sides of the surrounding hills look as if there was a massive explosion. No one is certain of how the meteorite arrived in that spot, it may have bounced across the earth from the original impact site, to its present site. The large (about 3×3 meters and 1 meter high) cuboid shape was discovered in 1920 by the owner of the farm, Jacobus Hermanus Brits, when his plow hit it with a metallic clang, and the oxen couldn’t pull the plow any further.
The American Museum of Natural History in NY city tried to purchase it in 1954, but couldn’t move it, and the site was declared a National Monument in 1955, though you couldn’t really visit it until 1985. The site has now been improved with a pleasant grassy garden and picnic area, and easy access to the meteorite. It is joy to stand upon as you ponder extraterrestrial origins it’s estimated age of 200-400 million years.
Read more about Hoba Meteorite near Grootfontein, Namibia on Atlas Obscura…
Category: Geological Oddities
Location: Grootfontein, Namibia
Edited by: kwinb, Dylan